Using Evidence in Public Health Decisions: Why it Matters

Four public health personalities make the case

In this video series, four Canadian experts explain why evidence-informed decision making is essential for public health. David Mowat, Carol Timmings, Gaynor Watson-Creed and Jocelyne Sauvé talk candidly about the impact that using evidence has had on their practices.

Watch Using Evidence in Public Health Decisions: Why it Matters on the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools' (NCCMT) websiteor on YouTube.

Using evidence to inform public health decisions can benefit the individuals, organizations and communities:

In a climate of tightening budgets, Dr. Watson-Creed notes, it is especially “important for us to be sure that the interventions that we are creating are going to work.”’

Jocelyne Sauvé adds that, “Without looking at [the research], we could implement interventions that would show little or no effectiveness.”

Decisions informed by evidence result in better health outcomes for individuals and communities. Dr. Mowat says that, by making “better use of the science that is already there,” public health professionals can “find the most effective ways of preventing… unnecessary illness and mortality.)

Dr. Watson-Creed also warns that, organizations that make decisions without evidence are “at risk of wasting resources, with solutions [they] think might work but that [they] don’t actually have the evidence to know … are going to work.”

Ultimately, the video’s message is that evidence-informed practice is an achievable goal for any organization. “You’re not doing it alone,” says Carol Timmings. “You are able to optimize and capitalize on assets that others are offering you in knowledge and expertise.”